The use of disposable containers for soaps, creams and cosmetic products has become widespread. The usual disposable container has a simple opening at the top making it difficult to accurately allocate a portion of the fluid without a separate measuring device. A further difficulty in the use of disposable containers is that there is often nowhere to support such containers in washrooms where they are used.
In workshops, laboratories, repair shops and similar working zones, clean-up areas have been set aside. Such clean-up rooms are frequented by many individuals who require access, for instance, to cleansing material. Providing soap and detergent bars for multiple use poses many problems as many individuals dislike employing a soap bar which had been used only a short time before by someone else, who may leave a wet soggy soap bar. To obviate this problem to a degree, powdered soap dispensers have been provided. These powdered soap dispensers are not usually useful in dispensing a paste material, as the powdered soap dispensers usually depend upon gravity flow for successful operation. Unless there is provision for positive pumping action, the paste, if very viscous, will be dispensed at an extremely slow rate, if at all.
Cleansing paste or liquid has certain advantages over the powdered soap. For instance, powdered soap may cake in the hands and may require vigorous rubbing with water before it becomes solubilized and loses its grittiness. On the other hand, cleansing paste or liquid is usually already partially emulsified in a diluent resulting in quick further dispersal. Instead of dispensing cleansing paste, it is oftentimes desirable to provide for small quantities of a lotion material which is applied to the hands as a protection and barrier to dirt.